Tomorrow and the Day After
by DramaLexy
Summary: Post 'Unfinished Business,' Kara and Lee still have a few things to deal with


TITLE: Tomorrow and the Day After

AUTHOR: DramaLexy

SUMMARY: Post 'Unfinished Business,' Kara and Lee still have a few things to deal with

DISCLAIMER: I don't own, you no sue

DISTRIBUTION: Sure, just let me know where.

* * *

They didn't say a word as they left the 'dance hall,' left the curious stares and the obnoxiously smug looks. Kara and Lee walked in silence toward the barracks, not touching, not looking at each other, and certainly not speaking. 

Truthfully, neither was sure what to say. Kara's whispered admission in the boxing ring had seemed genuine, but Lee was long past the point where he was going to beg. The next move was going to be up to her. She'd almost made that move once before, but she'd gotten scared and clung to what was easy instead of what she really wanted.

As they approached the pilot's washroom, Lee pushed open the hatch and was glad to see that the room was empty. He stared at his reflection in the mirror for a long moment, taking in the bloody gashes above both of his eyebrows, the bruising around his eyes and anywhere else that he'd gotten hit. Kara had fought dirty, just like always.

He almost flinched when she suddenly entered his field of view, her hand holding a wash rag that she'd just wet in the sink. Licking her lips a bit nervously, she slowly reached up and started to wipe the blood from his right temple. The edge of the cloth quickly turned from white to red.

Kara turned the faucet back on and rinsed the rag out. Before she could turn back around, however, Lee's hand covered hers, pulling the piece of fabric from her grip. Just as gently as she'd done, he started to clean away the blood that had trickled down her face from the gash above her eye. When he went to rinse away the red tinge, she took the cloth back.

Carefully, slowly, they went back and forth, cleaning away the result of damage they'd done to each other. If only their other wounds could be dealt with so easily. As Kara washed out the rag for the last time, Lee pulled two objects out of his pocket. He'd grabbed their dog tags – the last ones left in the box – on their way out of the hangar. He slipped Kara's over her head before putting on his own.

She looked up at their reflections, and his sparkling blue eyes met her hazel ones in the mirror. With the identification tags back in place, they were now Kara Thrace and Lee Adama again. Captain and Major. Starbuck and Apollo. All of those titles defined them, and yet, there was still more to the two of them, something that hadn't ever been given a name.

Lee staggered slightly, and Kara reached for his arm. "Are you all right?" she asked. The first words between them in nearly half an hour.

'I-I'm fine," he lied through his teeth.

She looked him straight in the face; his eyes seemed a bit strange, uneven. "Helo really did give you a concussion."

"I think you helped, too," Lee admitted with a small smile.

Kara returned it. "Cottle's going to kick your ass."

"Only if he finds out."

She rolled her eyes. "Tell your wife to make sure you don't go fall asleep and die."

Silence filled the room again, the uncomfortable kind that required a chainsaw to cut through the tension. It had been just Kara-and-Lee for a little while; they'd forgotten about the rest of the world and all the issues that came with it. But she'd brought it all back. "Lee…"

"Come with me," he said, cutting her off.

"What?"

"Come on."

* * *

She followed him out the door and down Galactica's corridors toward the forward part of the ship. The observation deck was supposed to be closed, but rank had its privileges. Lee knew the code for the door, and they both slipped through the hatch once he'd gotten it open. 

Kara had missed the view of the fleet during her many months planetside, especially during the last four of those months. She knelt at the large window to drink it all in for a moment. Lee took a seat on the floor.

"What are we doing up here?" Kara asked after a long moment.

"Just…watching the universe go by." She smiled slightly at the idea, taking a seat beside him, their backs against the wall.

They stayed together in silence, watching the stars and the other ships. Kara didn't think she'd ever been up to an observation deck with a guy before, on any ship. It was just a little too cliché for the infamous Starbuck. And yet, the quiet setting with Lee seemed perfect.

She wasn't sure how long they sat there, but eventually she could feel sleep pulling at her. "Go to the Life Station, Lee," she told him.

"You're not in a position to order me around, Captain," he shot, although the words were softened by a small smile.

"Just trying to keep you alive, Major," she shot back.

"Didn't realize you cared."

Kara looked up at him. "Of course I care, Lee…I've always cared."

The conversation dropped off once more, each of them lost in their own thoughts. Kara had a feeling that Lee was planning on spending the night up there by the window, and found herself wondering how often he did this.

"Don't let me fall asleep," she told him at one point, her words slurring slightly with exhaustion. "You keep me up and I'll keep you up. Deal?"

Seeing that she was already halfway gone, he nudged her in the head with his shoulder. "You don't look like you're up for this."

"No, I'm fine…Honest," she added, although he wasn't sure if she was trying to convince him or herself. "You and me, all night."

"Did you really just say that?" Lee asked with a chuckle. Kara started giggling – she was tired enough to actually be giggling – as she realized.

"I think so…Hey, Lee?"

"Hmm?"

There was a long pause, before she quietly said, "I'll still be here tomorrow if you will."

He swallowed hard, some small part of him questioning why he dared to hope, why that vow still meant so much to him after everything. "Promise?" he whispered.

There was a long moment of silence, and he wondered if she'd actually fallen asleep. But upon looking down, he saw her hazel eyes watching him. "Promise," she replied.

"How about the day after that?" he asked, looking away.

Kara sighed. "What about your wife?"

Lee looked down at his left hand, and slipped the silver band off of his ring finger. "Does that make it easier to answer?"

"I…I'll still be here," she whispered.

"The day after that?" The pause that followed his question worried him.

"I might get scared, Lee," she finally said. "And I'll more than likely do something stupid."

Lee sighed. He knew her, and he knew that that was what she did, but it didn't make it any less frustrating. "What else do you need, Kara?"

"I don't know, I just…I don't get to be happy. It never works. Something always takes it away, and…I couldn't take losing you."

"You'd rather push me away instead?" It was more of a statement than a question, his voice a bit cold and hurt.

Kara considered that. "I really am frakked, aren't I?"

"Yeah…but I still love you."

Kara glanced up. "Why?"

"Why do I love you?"

"Yeah."

Lee chuckled. "Beats the hell out of me. But I haven't figured out how to stop yet, and I don't think I ever will."

Kara looked down at his hand, picking it up and running a finger across where his ring had been. "Lee Adama loves Kara Thrace," she quietly repeated his declaration from so long ago.

"Kara Thrace loves Lee Adama," he answered.

"I'll be here the day after that," she whispered. "Just…be patient."

"I've been waiting a long time, Kara. I can be patient a little more. And if it's what you need to hear, I can keep telling you everyday that I love you and I'm not going anywhere. And you can try to run and push me away, but I'll still be there. Just promise me that even if you get scared, you won't give up on us. You've got to take a few chances in order to get things that are really worth it."

She contemplated that for a long moment. "Promise," she finally said.

* * *

Kara eventually fell asleep, despite her best efforts. As she woke up, she realized that Lee wasn't beside her anymore, and momentarily she was terrified that the past night had just been a dream. She then realized that he was standing by the window. "Lee?" 

He offered her a small smile. "Morning."

"I'm sorry I fell asleep."

"That's okay. I didn't, and that's what really mattered." He could see it on her face when she started thinking about everything that had happened the day before. "Kara…don't."

She took a couple deep breaths. "We can do this, right?"

"We can. I'm going to go talk to Dee, and you're going to go find Anders, okay? And after that…"

"What?"

Lee smiled slightly. "After that, we can go talk to my dad."

* * *

When Kara walked back into her bunk room, looking for her soon-to-be-ex-husband, she noticed a few looks from the other pilots she shared a room with. "If someone's got something to say, say it," she told them. Nobody spoke. 

Rolling her eyes, Kara pulled her locker open and got out a new shirt and pants. As she started to close the door, she realized that the small storage space was emptier than the last time she'd looked. Sam had been bunking on Galactica the past couple of days while she used him for a frak buddy. He'd brought a few things with him for the stay, and as of the previous evening, they'd been stuffed into the bottom of her locker. Not anymore.

A piece of paper was lying on her bunk with just one word on it – GOODBYE.

* * *

The conversation with Dualla went better than Lee had expected. He'd been unaware of exactly how much his wife had been able to infer from the fight the previous evening. 

"I'm not going to be waiting, Lee," she told him as she calmly sat on their bunk in their quarters. He was standing by the door, prepared to make a getaway as soon as it was feasible. He could come back and get his stuff later once she was on duty.

"Waiting for what?" he asked.

"The next time your heart gets broken by Starbuck. I'm won't be sitting here waiting for you."

"I don't expect you to be."

She considered that. "But you're doing this anyway?"

"Yeah."

Dee sighed. "Why? Why do you put yourself through all of her crap? She doesn't deserve you."

"Maybe she does."

She frowned. "What?"

"Maybe I'm the person who can get her to stop with all the crap she puts people through. I can at least try."

"And when that doesn't work?"

Lee cracked a smile. "I guess I'll have to try again." He pulled his ring from his pocket and handed it to her. "I'm sorry Dee. Maybe in some ways I'm just as frakked up as Kara. She ran to Anders and I ran to you when all we really wanted was each other. I didn't want to hurt you, and I'm sorry things have ended up like this."

"I always knew the truth," she replied. "Everyone always knew the truth. I just…hoped that we could pretend."

Lee nodded slightly, understanding. "Pretending's never really gotten me anywhere," he replied before walking out the hatch and closing it behind him.

* * *

Lee was unbelievably relieved to see Kara waiting for him in the hall by his father's quarters when he got there. "How'd it go?" he cautiously asked. 

"I didn't go marry someone," she replied, and despite everything Lee couldn't help but laugh.

"Thank the Gods for that."

"Sam kinda made conversation unnecessary – he left."

"That was helpful."

"Wasn't it though? How'd it go with Dee?"

"Okay. She was expecting it. Not happy about it, but still." Kara nodded. "You ready?"

"No. But do I have a choice?"

Lee grinned. "No." He stepped forward and knocked on Adama's hatch. They could hear him call,

"Come in." The Admiral set down his paperwork as he saw who his visitors were. "What's going on?" he asked the two pilots, and saw them exchange a look.

"We wanted to talk with you," Lee told his father. Kara went back to shut the hatch. "You missed the last 'dance' of the night yesterday."

"I heard," Adama replied, sitting back in his chair. "You two get it out of your systems?" Again, they exchanged glances.

"Hopefully," Kara answered, her eyes focused on her hands.

"Whatever's going on, spill it," Adama ordered.

Lee decided to go first. "Dee and I are splitting up." Adama took that in.

"And you?" he asked Kara.

"Sam's gone."

"I see." They weren't saying the rest of the story aloud, but the looks they kept sharing were screaming it. Adama considered for a moment how big of a left turn their lives were about to take. He'd always known there was something between them, something that they never bothered to complicate by trying to define. As long as they were happy, it hadn't mattered to him. But things couldn't have stayed that way forever. The idea of putting meaning to 'Kara and Lee' had driven them away from being friends or anything else. The Old Man was glad that something had brought them back together.

"You sure you can put up with him?" Adama asked Kara with a smile, indicating his son.

She returned the grin, albeit a bit shyly. "Sure, as long as he can put up with me."

Lee smiled. "I like a good challenge. We wanted to come and tell you before you heard it all from the rumor mill. It's been an interesting couple of days." Kara snorted.

"I appreciate that," Adama told his son. "And if you were looking for a blessing, you have it." He was amused to see a bit of color rise up in Kara's cheeks at that statement.

"Thanks, Dad."

"Thank you, Sir."

Adama just nodded. "Will you give us just a minute?" he asked Kara. She got up and headed back out the hatch.

"What's the matter?" Lee asked his father.

"I feel somewhat obligated to ask if you're sure about this. Seems a little…sudden."

"The sudden part was a year ago, Dad. We made mistakes, lost a lot of time. Now we just want to try and fix that."

* * *

Kara was somewhat nervously waiting in the hall. "What did he say?" she asked Lee when he came out of his father's office and shut the hatch. 

He smiled. "The normal father stuff…And he warned me that he's tossing us both in hack if we screw this up." Kara laughed.

"I want to take you somewhere," she said after a moment. "To meet someone."

"Who?"

"Somebody really special. She showed me what's good about…about taking chances on things that are worth it. Even when it really hurts."

Lee smiled. "Lead the way."

* * *

Some of the inhabitants of Camp Oil Slick had been lucky enough to find other places to live in the past few weeks, but Kara knew exactly where Julia Prynne's cot was on the still-crowded, curtained-off section of the starboard hangar. 

"Kara, Kara!" Kacey exclaimed as she saw her friend approaching.

"Hey, kiddo," she replied, picking up the toddler in a hug. Lee just watched, amazed. He'd heard rumors at one point about Kara coming onboard from New Caprica with a kid, but hadn't paid much attention. The sight before him of Starbuck with a small child in her arms was surprisingly beautiful.

"Hey, Kara," Julia tiredly said.

"Rough morning?" she asked Kacey's mother.

"You could say that. She's running me ragged this week."

"I could take her for a couple hours," Kara offered. "You could go get a shower and lunch in peace." She'd had a couple baby-sitting gigs in the past few weeks, whenever she could get away from her other responsibilities.

"You don't mind?" Julia asked. Kara shook her head. "Thanks so much. Hey, Kace?" The little girl turned to look up at her mother. "I'll be back in a little while, okay? Be good for Kara and…" She trailed off, realizing that the pilot hadn't introduced her friend.

"Oh, sorry, this is Lee. He's the lead pilot on the ship."

Julia nodded, reaching to shake his hand. "Nice to meet you. Thanks again, Kara." After getting together her stuff, she headed for the hatch.

Kara sat down on their cot with Kacey in her arms. "Can you say hi to Lee?" she asked the little girl. "He's a really, really good friend of mine…even when I don't deserve it. He's really important to me."

Kacey offered him a megawatt grin. "Hi!"

"Hey, there," Lee said as he knelt on the floor.

"This is Kacey," Kara explained to him. "Twenty-seven pounds of pure energy." The toddler giggled as Kara tickled her.

"You met her on New Caprica?"

Kara nodded, pushing back the pain that threatened overwhelm her. She'd gotten good at that lately. No one knew what had happened with Kacey and Leoben, not Sam, not Helo or Sharon, not even Julia. "Hey, Kace?" she whispered to the little girl. "What did you call me on New Caprica?"

"Mommy," the little girl whispered, like it was a secret. Lee's eyes were as big as pyramid balls.

"Kara…" he quietly started.

"We had our own little world of make believe," she cut him off. "Except I didn't know that it was all just pretend. We…we were kept in an apartment in the city. He told me that she was mine, a-and eventually I believed it…I wanted it." She looked down at Kacey as the little girl started playing with her dog tags. "But it wasn't true…and now I'm just 'Kara'."

"There's no such thing as 'just Kara'," Lee told her. "And if it's what you want…someday you'll be 'Mommy' again."

She smiled slightly. "You think?"

Lee smiled, leaning forward to let Kacey inspect his dog tags as well. "I'm looking at what our future could hold, Kara," he said, a smile crossing his face. "And I've gotta say…this should be an interesting ride."

* * *

Fin. 

Just a little thing that popped into my head this weekend. Feedback is much appreciated.


End file.
